Referee Memorandum

To: State Referee Administrators, State Youth Referee
Administrators, State Directors of Referee Instruction,
State Directors of Referee Assessment, National Referee
Instructors and Trainers, National Assessors, National
Referees

From: Alfred Kleinaitis, Manager
of Referee Development and Education

Subject: Managing Match Time

Date: March 4, 2003

Law 7 requires the referee to
make allowance in either period for "all time lost
through:

substitution(s)

assessment of injury to players

removal of injured players from
the field of play for treatment

wasting time

any other cause"

Law 7 notes that the "allowance for
time lost is at the discretion of the referee." More
recently, in Memorandum 2001, USSF reported FIFA's position
that, although the safety of players must be the main priority,
referees were "instructed to add the full amount of time
lost for reasons relating to injuries."

Most stoppages of play are ordinary
elements of the game and "time lost" is a much more
restricted concept than "time not played." The Laws
of the Game encourage a match management approach
by the referee that keeps the game moving with as few
stoppages of play as possible and a minimum amount
of delay in all restarts.

Referees must provide players
with full adjustments of time for delays that are longer
than what is minimally needed for the purpose of the
restart. In general, most ordinary restarts can
be accomplished quickly, regardless of the reason (substitution,
goal celebration, disciplinary action, assessment of
injury, and so forth).
In such cases, the referee is not expected to consider
the time as "lost."

Where delays are excessive, however,
the referee is obliged to take their length fully into
account in timing each half. Such decisions must
always be made in accordance with the referee’s feeling
for the spirit of the game.